


Coffee with you

by YunhosFlower



Category: ATEEZ (Band), Atiny
Genre: ATEEZ - Freeform, ATEEZ AU, Coffee, F/M, Fluff and Humor, baristayunho, yunho - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-24 17:41:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30075897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YunhosFlower/pseuds/YunhosFlower
Relationships: Jeong Yunho/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	Coffee with you

Yunho leaned against the counter, staring absent mindedly into the space in front of him. His slender fingers absently dragged a pattern in a patch of spilt sugar, when had that even happened?   
  
Around him there was a constant stream of chatter that occasionally he would find himself tuning into, catching glimpses into people’s lives whether he wanted in on them or not.   
  
None of them really paid the distracted, tall, figure any attention.   
  
He was used to that.   
  
Behind him he heard the tell tale sound of a customer entering the cafe.   
  
Reluctantly he twisted, dark eyes scanning the doorway to see who it was.   
  
He had a small list in his head of names, people it could be at this time in the afternoon.   
  
To his surprise, it was none of them.   
  
In fact it was a customer that he had only ever seen come in once before.   
  
“Hello,” He hummed out a greeting, hoping his over the top, well trained, customer service smile cancelled out the surprise in his low voice. “What can I get you today?”   
  
The newcomer stood still for a millisecond, slanted eyes assessing Yunho knowingly.   
  
Clearly seeing straight through him.   
  
“You’re here again.” She noted with a small smile, a smile that brought out two matching dimples.   
  
Yunho swallowed, pretending he didn’t notice the way those dimples had made him feel.   
  
Because he didn’t have time to go around crushing on anyone right now, least of all some newcomer who he’d met barely twice now.   
  
He wasn’t even sure the first occurrence even counted, he’d been on his way out of the cafe and in so much of a rush he’d crashed directly into the dimpled girl as she’d been entering.   
  
He’d barely had time to throw an apology over his shoulder as he rushed past the stumbling figure, staying long enough only to catch the incredulous glance thrown in his direction.   
  
Yunho forced himself back to the present with an uncomfortable clearing of his throat, nodding his head in response to the customer.   
  
“What can I get you today?” He repeated his question with a bit more force, fingers hovering over the register, ready to put in whatever order he was given.   
  
The dimpled girl only smiled wider, leaning onto the countertop, right where Yunho had leant earlier in fact, her head tilted as she observed the taller figure in front of her.   
  
“Well I’d like a recommendation…” She leaned even closer, her eyes travelling from Yunho’s face to his chest, where he had messily pinned his name tag earlier in the day. “Yunho.”   
  
Yunho didn’t like the way his name fell from this girl’s lips, or the way it felt like she was flirting with him without even trying.   
  
He pursed his lips uncomfortably, shifting from one foot to the other, glancing around for any sign of his coworkers.   
  
At any other given time they would be bustling around loudly, in his way, making things hard.   
  
Of course it would be the one time that he needed distractions they would all be coincidentally busy for the first time in the day so far.  
  
Yunho let out a small sigh and glanced over his shoulder at the menu.  
  
He didn’t want to give the satisfaction to the now smirking customer, whatever satisfaction it was that she could get out of this, but he also couldn’t afford to have her spouting bad reviews over Yunho losing his cool.   
  
“I think you’d like the chocolate milkshake.” He said with resignation, turning back to look at the girl. “And the cinnamon rolls.”   
  
“Why?” The girl’s eyes sparkled as he asked the question, clearly enjoying the way it made Yunho squirm and gape at her. “Why do you think I’d like them? You don’t know me.”   
  
It took everything inside of Yunho not to snap angrily back at her.   
  
“It was just a guess based on your appearance and attitude since you’ve walked in.” He said through gritted teeth, holding her gaze evenly. “If you didn’t want my recommendation you shouldn’t have asked for it.”   
  
The dimples appeared again and she let out a laugh that sounded more like tinkling bells than a laugh.  
  
Yunho hated that so far everything about this frustrating girl was pretty.   
  
“My name is y/n, I’ll take the milkshake and cinnamon roll then.” She waved her hand through the air, and Yunho couldn’t help but notice how small and dainty it was as he begrudgingly entered the order and gestured to the card reader for her to pay.   
  
Y/n.   
  
Of course her name would be pretty too.   
  
Yunho resisted the urge to roll his eyes as Y/n stepped away once done paying, flashing him a look that he couldn’t interpret before she headed over to plop into a nearby seat.   
  
‘ _Why do you think I’d like them? You don’t know me._ ’ Yunho mocked Y/n’s words in his head as he turned to make the milkshake glancing around for a square of wax paper to use to collect the cinnamon roll with.   
  
It wasn’t until the order was done that Yunho realised how childish and ridiculous he was being.   
  
Y/n hadn’t been nearly as bad as other customers he’d had earlier in the day.  
  
But there was just something about that feline like face that had instantly grated on his nerves.  
  
“Y/n.” He didn’t like the way the name rolled off of his tongue, or the way that Y/n’s eyes narrowed from across the cafe as he stood.  
  
And he didn’t like that he’d noticed how nice Y/n’s fingers were as they curled around the take away cup filled with her drink.   
  
“By the way,” Y/n paused, looking back over her shoulder at Yunho. “I forgive you.”   
  
“You forgiv-” Yunho blinked, so taken aback that he said nothing more as Y/n smirked and waved goodbye, leaving him standing behind the counter staring after the smaller figure as she walked away from the cafe.   
  
‘Forgive what?’ He asked himself over and over throughout the rest of his work day.

-=+=-  
  
The next week Yunho tried not to glance up every single time the cafe bell sounded.  
  
He really tried.   
  
He wasn’t sure what he was hoping for or who he was waiting for.   
  
He just knew that despite telling himself he wasn’t looking up because the bell had gone off again, he felt a growing sense of disappointment.   
  
He was midway through making himself a coffee, to take home with him, when a shadow fell over the countertop.   
  
Surprised, he looked up, because he hadn’t heard the bell and because the cafe would be closing soon and it was rare for anyone to turn up so late.   
  
“Oh. It’s you.” He breathed out, confused and too stunned to hide his shock from his expression.   
  
Y/n smiled, shoving her hands into her pockets.   
  
The hands that Yunho remembered being so tiny and yet seemed to fill those pockets like it was nothing.   
  
“The uh… the cafe closes soon.” He cleared his throat, shaking his head to dislodge his thoughts. Y/n nodded slowly, glancing around Yunho at the menu.   
  
“You’re going home now aren’t you?” It was the first thing that the sparkly eyed girl had said since appearing in front of him and Yunho had to blink away more of his surprise.   
  
He’d forgotten how lovely her voice sounded, like a lullaby.   
  
‘Stop it, she’s a customer and you’re not supposed to notice things like that’ he scolded himself inwardly even as he found himself nodding to Y/n wordlessly, watching her intently for her next move.  
  
Every moment before him felt like a moment playing a game, a game that only Y/n seemed to have any control over.   
  
Yunho didn’t want to play, he didn’t want to be interested.   
  
But it was like trying to tell a child not to do something.. it only made him want it more.   
  
“Then I won’t order anything. I don’t want to keep you.” Y/n hummed, turning slowly on her heel, like she was waiting, no expecting, for Yunho to stop her.   
  
Yunho waited until she was nearly to the door before he relented with a heavy sigh and called out.   
  
“I have time to make you something to go. I’m still making mine.”   
  
She paused, turning back around with a wide grin and a knowing look in her eyes that made Yunho squirm.   
  
“Then I’ll have one of what you’re having.” She said, almost proudly, as she made her way back to the counter, pulling out her card.   
  
Yunho, determined not to give her a reaction, simply put the order into the register and gestured for Y/n to swipe her card when she was ready before he turned and continued to silently make not one but now two drinks.   
  
Every passing second he felt Y/n’s gaze slide to a different part of his body and gradually the back of his neck began to heat up with embarrassment.   
  
He wondered if she could see the many burns that littered his forearms and hand from the steaming coffee machine or from pulling hot baked goods from the oven.   
  
He wondered if his dark hair looked messy today because he hadn’t had a chance to glance in any reflective surface and tidy it as he went, like he usually would.   
  
He wondered if the harder she looked, the less she would like whatever she saw.   
  
In fact he was so terrified to turn around and face the look of disappointment in Y/n’s eyes that he found himself making a third cup of coffee, so distracted that he didn’t pay enough attention to avoid the direct stream of hot air the machine released onto his hand.   
  
Yunho cursed, dropping the third cup and splattering the floor with unheated milk, cradling his burnt palm to his chest.   
  
“Do I make you that nervous?” Y/n asked softly from behind him and Yunho whipped around faster than he ever had in his life, eyes wide on the beautiful figure watching him.   
  
Her head was tilted slightly, dark eyes hovering almost sadly on Yunho’s palm.  
  
Yunho dropped his hand slowly, attempting to tuck it out of sight subconsciously, contemplating the response to give the doe-eyed girl.   
  
“No. I’m not nervous, I’m clumsy.” He muttered.   
  
She blinked and then laughed, shaking her head and sending the sad look scattering away.   
  
“If you say so.” She hummed back, eyes flicking to the spilt milk on the floor. “Would you like a hand cleaning it up?”   
  
Yunho also looked down at the mess under his feet, chewing on the inside of his cheek.   
  
If he said yes, did it mean yes to more than just a simple hand cleaning up some milk?   
  
And if he said no did it mean no to more than getting her help with the milk?   
  
Because he wasn’t really sure what his answer should be yet.   
  
He felt Y/n’s gaze move from the floor to him and like a magnet he lifted his head, meeting the watchful brown eyes as they assessed him.   
  
There was far too much humour and understanding there for him to be comfortable with.   
  
“Relax, it was a simple question.” Y/n said, lifting a brow before slipping herself through the staff entry behind the counter, reaching for a dry towel. “Not everything I say or do has an ulterior motive, though I can understand why you would think that.”   
  
It was the first time that Y/n had addressed her odd behaviour and Yunho felt too stunned to say anything.   
  
Because this was the first time really that he and Y/n had been so close and he found himself unable to breathe or think properly.   
  
Y/n cast him one glance before she shook her head and knelt down beside the spill, dropping the towel amidst it to soak some of the mess.   
  
Yunho shook his head violently, reaching for another dry one and kneeling down beside her.   
  
“You were making a third drink.” Y/n murmured softly, reaching past Yunho’s arm to retrieve his now considerably soaked towel. Yunho looked sharply at her, already trying to come up with an excuse for the third drink he’d been making.   
  
But when he tried to actually say any of them he found them stuck in his throat, stubbornly refusing to come out.   
  
“It’s okay you know,” she added after a few moments of watching Yunho struggle to say something. “I won’t bite.”   
  
Yunho let out an incredulous sound, knees slackening slightly below him in defeat.   
  
If there was anyone that he’d ever met that seemed more like they would bite him than Y/n, he didn’t have any recollection of them.   
  
“You just keep showing up.” Yunho shook his head aggressively, snatching up his towel and standing to wring it out in the sink.   
  
He wanted to say something cooler than that, but he also didn’t want to care about sounding cooler in front of her.   
  
She was just a customer.   
  
“I keep showing up to see you.” Y/n flashed a bright smile as she stood too, holding her wet towel in her hands and watching as Yunho tightened his grip on his own dripping one.   
  
“I don’t do games like you do.” Yunho hissed suddenly, throwing the towel down and turning to properly face the smiling girl. “I don’t like them. If you’re interested in me, heaven forbid, then just say that!”   
  
“Okay then, I’m interested in you.” Y/n delicately reached around Yunho to put her towel in the sink, not bothering to lean away when she'd released it. Her dark eyes held Yunho a complete captive in their path and his breath once again caught in his throat.   
  
He hadn’t expected the smaller figure to be so blunt and admit it so easily. He hadn’t prepared for that at all.   
  
“Oh.” He mumbled stupidly, blinking.   
  
“Oh.” Y/n repeated slowly, a flicker of disappointment and maybe doubt appearing in her eyes as she leaned back.   
  
Yunho was too focused on trying to come up with a good way to inform her that he was maybe also interested, so focused that he didn’t notice Y/n backing away so quickly that she was soon on the wrong side of the counter, closer to the exit than to Yunho.   
  
“Wait,” Yunho jerked into action, starting forward towards her.   
  
But it was too late, Y/n gave him a small smile and smaller wave before slipping out of the door.   
  
“I’m interested too…” Yunho said quietly into the empty space left to him, gaze dropping forlornly down to the mess he now had to finish cleaning and the two cups filled with coffee.   
  


-=+=-   
  
It was exactly 17 days, two weeks and three days, until Y/n next appeared in the cafe.   
  
Yunho had long ago given up on looking up eagerly every single time the bell went off, though on occasion he still found himself craning his neck out from behind the coffee machine or above the pastry cabinet to check who was walking in.   
  
But he had always done that occasionally, he tried to tell himself.   
  
It wasn’t that he was still looking, still waiting, still hoping for the mysterious Y/n to come back.  
  
But he also knew that he was lying to himself, because he hadn’t been able to keep the dimpled girl from his thoughts since their last encounter.   
  
Now that he’d finally admitted to feeling something for her, regardless of it being only to himself, he wasn’t quite able to just drop it and forget it.   
  
But he had no way of contacting Y/n, didn’t even know her last name or whether she even lived nearby.   
  
So he just had to wait and hope.  
  
  
  
He just happened to look up at the right time 17 days later though.   
  
“Y/n.” He breathed softly, making immediate eye contact with her from across the cafe.   
  
Y/n looked stunned to see him, though Yunho wondered what she’d been expecting, when he was here almost every day.   
  
It was in fact the first time that Yunho had seen anything similar to panic on her face as she glanced around the nearly empty cafe, eyes darting anxiously around to check how many customers were in here.   
  
Yunho knew without looking there were only three, one a young student that never seemed to look up from his macbook, earphones always plastered over his ears, and an elderly couple who normally visited the cafe on a Wednesday afternoon a few hours before close.   
  
He also knew without needing to look close that Y/n was more nervous than he was for the first time in any of their odd encounters.   
  
He liked that for once he was not the one a fumbling and embarrassed mess as Y/n slowly stepped towards the counter.   
  
“It’s been a while.” Yunho noted dryly, wiping the flour on his fingers off onto his pants. “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming back.”   
  
He had been joking but Y/n looked at him sharply, like she’d just had her thoughts read.   
  
“I wasn’t going to.” She admitted finally and it was Yunho’s turn to stare at her piercingly.   
  
“Then why did you?”   
  
She shuffled on her feet, lifting her left shoulder in a half shrug.   
  
“I don’t know. You make nice coffee.”   
  
Yunho let out a tiny snort, shaking his head. Feeling suddenly quite bold he leaned over the top of the counter, tilting his head to hold eye contact with Y/n, who seemed to shrink in on herself in confusion at the role reversal.   
  
“I don’t think that was why you came back.” Even Yunho was impressed by his own bravery.   
  
He was never the one who acted like this, he was normally in Y/n’s shoes, shrinking away from any kind of games.   
  
But he kind of liked being the one in control, even if only for a bit.   
  
She was quick to recover though, closing some more of the distance by leaning in curiously, like she was testing to see if Yunho would squirm away.   
  
But Yunho was firm, standing his ground even as he felt some of his confidence slink away.   
  
“No, I came back because I want to know what you were going to say to me when I left.” She admitted in a strangely soft voice, eyes dropping briefly to Yunho’s lips.   
  
Yunho knew better than to take the bait and yet still…   
  
“If you had of stayed, you would know.” He said tightly, looking away from her.   
  
He heard a muted breath of surprise leave her.   
  
“I was pretty sure that..”  
  
“That what? That I was going to reject you?”   
  
“Well yeah?” The insecurity in Y/n’s voice drew Yunho’s gaze back to her and he gave the smaller figure an incredulous look.   
  
“ _You_ were scared that I would reject you?”   
  
“Of course I was.” Y/n frowned at Yunho in response and he could only blink.   
  
“Idiot.” He sighed, shaking his head, sending a few of his dark hairs splaying across his forehead.   
  
Her frown deepened.   
  
“You didn’t exactly give me a lot of reassurance otherwise.” She pointed out, voice tight with irritation suddenly.   
  
Yunho threw his hands up into the air in his own irritation.   
  
“I honestly thought it was pretty obvious what with me becoming a walking circus around you.”   
  
Y/n closed her eyes for a moment, lips twitching like she was trying to hold back a smile.   
  
“A walking circus huh?” Yunho shrank at the laughter in Y/n’s voice when she finally spoke again, realising too late that he’d basically put his own foot in his mouth.   
  
“Forget it. Go find nice coffee somewhere else, Y/n.” He muttered with another shake of his head, turning to grab at a coffee cup that he’d meant to clean earlier.   
  
His movement was stopped however by a gentle hand on his elbow, tugging ever so lightly, forcing him to turn back towards Y/n.   
  
“I like the way you say my name.” She smiled.   
  
Yunho wanted to stay mad, to hate the way that he was being flirted and toyed with.   
  
But he didn’t, couldn’t.   
  
“Do you want a damn coffee or not.”


End file.
